My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent Series: Soul Screamers #4
Published by Mira on July 17th 2011
Pages: 375
Goodreads
Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can’t just pretend nothing happened. But “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.
See, Sabine isn’t just an ordinary girl. She’s a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people’s fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.
And Sabine isn’t above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.
If I though the last book My Soul to Keep put the characters through the ringer, that was nothing compared to My Soul to Steal. Holy hell, but this was a difficult book to read. I loved it – but it made my head (and heart) hurt something fierce.
My Soul to Steal starts pretty much right after the events of the previous book. Kaylee and Nash’s relationship is on very shaky ground after Nash’s addiction to Demon’s Breath and subsequent mistreatment of Kaylee. Nash is fighting his addiction and Kaylee is still unsure if she can forgive him for what he did to her (and for keeping what happened to him a secret). Sounds like things couldn’t get any worse them doesn’t it? Wrong. Things are about to get a lot, lot worse.
A further obstacle now stands in the way of their reconciliation in the form of Sabine, Nash’s ex-girlfriend, who is determined to win him back – no matter what the cost. Even worse, Sabine is a Mara (a literal nightmare) and she sees Kaylee as a threat (and target). Sabine will stop at nothing to make Nash hers…and even worse Kaylee is unsure if Nash reciprocates Sabine’s feelings. Being a Mara (that is someone who can directly manipulate people’s nightmares) Sabine feeds Kaylee’s fears that about Nash and her own short-comings. When teachers at their school start dropping dead in their sleep, Kaylee immediately suspects Sabine…but could the truth be even more terrifying?
Oh. My. God. What a book. Sabine is certainly an interesting addition to the series. My first instinct was to absolutely despise her. She inserts herself between Kaylee and Nash (and did they really need something else adding to their already perhaps insurmountable problems??) and makes no bones about what she will do to get what she wants. And yet…I cannot help but feel for her a little. She clearly loves Nash and she is always honest (brutally honest in fact) about what she intends to do. What I did find interesting is that Sabine seems to like Kaylee in spite of everything. She is definitely an entertaining character if nothing else.
Nash. Oh Nash. What little goodwill I had towards you (despite what happened in that last book) seems to be gone now. I understand you are hurting but if you are trying to prove to your estranged girlfriend that you are trustworthy you do not spend so much time with another girl, especially one who was your ex-girlfriend. Who is currently trying to remove the obstacle that is your current (maybe) girlfriend in order to get with you! I get that Sabine was a huge part of Nash’s past but he really needs to stop stringing both Kaylee and Sabine along. Having cake and trying to eat it too springs to mind.
This was also the first book where I started to get a little frustrated with Kaylee. She wasn’t sure if she could trust Nash (understandably) and did not know if they still had a future. However, as soon as Sabine appeared and tried to steal him back, this then spurs Kaylee on to fight for Nash, even though she still has her doubts. I felt for her, I really did, but at the same time I did want to give her a good shake.
I spent a huge portion of this book being equally frustrated with most of the main characters. However, I still loved the book (go figure). Although the main plot took a bit of a backstage to all the romantic entanglements, it was still a very entertaining (albeit exasperating) read. It was interesting to see a love-triangle that didn’t follow the usual trend of two guys fighting over a girl.
This love triangle was a little more interesting, especially when Tod stepped into the mix. In fact, Tod had a lot more presence in this book (yay!) and he seems to be intent on getting Kaylee to see that Nash may not be the best match for her. I get the feeling that this may be explored further in the next book and I cannot help but hope that Tod may in fact prove to be the one for Kaylee – as her relationship with Nash seems to be getting more and more toxic.
The supporting characters such as Emma, Alec and even Sophie, helped round out the story and although they were not at the forefront, their presence was very much felt. I really particularly like Alec and enjoyed seeing his almost brotherly bond with Kaylee develop and grow throughout the book.
Overall, My Soul to Steal was yet another explosive entry in the Soul Screamers series. Reading this one was a little akin to being tortured. It was a difficult read but I am really looking forward to seeing how the story will go. Love and jealousy play a huge role in this book and things seem to be coming to a head in this department. I was little annoyed by the lack of a denouement but at least I do not have to wait for the next book If I Die – got it all lined up ready to dive into – seriously I would have been a mess if I had to wait for these books in real-time!
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